It's been a dramatic year for Joél Muñoz, a Lafayette native and the assistant principal at George Washington Community School.

In January he was awarded a Lilly Endowment grant for $10,000 to study the Mandarin language in China.

Earlier this month, Muñoz — the only Latino administrator working at an IPS school — was named a finalist for assistant principal of the year at a middle or high school by the Indiana Association of School Principals.

But the 29-year-old's biggest jolt came in February when the IPS board voted not to renew his contract as an assistant principal at Washington, a struggling junior and senior high school on the city's Westside that has low state ratings.

"It was a complete surprise," Muñoz said. "There are great things that are going on at Washington. I wish I could still be apart of them."

Muñoz is among 23 administrators, including four principals and nine assistant principals, who will not return to their positions in the 2014-15 school year.

At the time the departures were announced, IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said they were part of a move to ensure the district has the most talented leaders while undergoing a reorganization. "We need to be more efficient and effective in the services that we provide," he said.

The district offered no further comment this week on the decision but said efforts are underway to increase diversity in the classroom and support students.

Losing a role model

But some feel Muñoz's departure is a bad move.

Monica Medina, an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis education lecturer, characterized the development as disastrous for Latino students, who make up 22 percent of the IPS student population.

Muñoz is a role model for students, Medina said, particularly those struggling to learn English, just as he once did.

"If you can have that knowledge, it is much easier to communicate with parents and engage students about the importance of education," Medina said. "You need that bridge and someone who can see both sides. We can't expect the teachers who have not had the immigration experience to understand."

At Washington, the student population is about 29 percent Hispanic and 43 percent black. Out of the district's 30,800 students, 22 percent are Hispanic this year.

The Indiana Department of Education reported in 2011, the most recent data available, that 1 percent of teachers statewide, or around 600, were Hispanic. The same year, 48 of 2,190 IPS teachers were Hispanic.

Le Boler, IPS chief strategist, said the district has several initiatives underway not only to increase staff diversity but to reach out to the entire population of students to make sure their needs are met.

"We will hire a district recruiter who will ensure we are acquiring the best talent and that our staff mirrors our student population," she said.

The district also is hiring additional bilingual workers and considering a "newcomers" program that would offer assistance to new immigrant families of IPS students.

Cultural training also will soon be required for all staff.

As IPS goes through its restructuring, Muñoz is looking forward, seeking a new opportunity while worrying about the students he'll leave behind. A Lafayette native and Mexican-American, he was the first in his family to graduate high school and college.

That experience, Muñoz said, prepared him to be a mentor and navigate challenges that students of immigrants face. Those students, and their sometimes non-English speaking parents, need advocates, he said.

He hopes they can find that support next school year.

"I am the person looking from the inside out, not the outside in," Munoz said. "Our parents need a voice, our students need a voice. And many times when you don't have that advocate for you, well, it is a concern."

School's struggled

Washington has had a difficult past. It closed in 1995 due to shrinking enrollment but reopened in 2000 as a middle school after community members rallied around it. Additional grades were added each year after that.

The middle school was rated a D last year by the state accountability system. The high school is rated F and under an intervention plan. The contract of another vice principal at the high school, Michelle Brittain-Watts, also won't be renewed next year.

Before coming to IPS in 2012, Muñoz taught Spanish at schools in Attica, West Lafayette and Rensselaer districts. He is a 2006 Purdue University graduate.

In 2009 he was named chairman of Lafayette's Commission on Latino and Hispanic Affairs. Last year he earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Oakland City University.

This year, the Indiana Association of School Principals picked Muñoz as secondary assistant principal of the year for district seven, which is in the Indianapolis area. That puts him in the running to win the statewide award that will be announced in November.

"My hope is that, especially with our Latino students, that they see hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed," he said.